Their novel composite is lighter than the current material used for liquid hydrogen storage tanks and means that more fuel can be stored or more payload carried at one time – a feat that Dr Pazhani describes as a “groundbreaking work that leapfrogs current research in the field".

The research was carried out collaboratively with Professor Anthony Xavior from Vellore Institute of Technology in India, Dr Andre Batako from Liverpool John Moores University, and Dr Dirk Honecker at ISIS.

“This all started as I was looking for the super lightweight and load-bearing material for external fuel tanks. The material in question has been used since 1993 to store liquid hydrogen and yet in this work we innovatively reinforced this material with nano graphene, creating a new composite out of that," adds Dr Pazhani.

The new composite was characterised through a range of techniques, including small angle neutron scattering (SANS) on LOQ at ISIS. SANS was used to study the distribution of the nanoparticles of graphene in the composite, finding that they were dispersed evenly across the material. Their SANS measurements also enabled them to study the influence of this distribution on the precipitation kinetics of the nano precipitates inside the material.

“SANS is the most advanced characterisation method to study nano particles and Dirk, our instrument scientist was very supportive," explains Dr Pazhani.  

The group have been able to reduce overall external tank weight by 2%, which is 19,400kg of total weight reduction. This could be used towards sending 19 tons of extra payload in every space flight, meaning that space vessels can travel longer distances as well as carrying more payload.

“This is a significant innovation in liquid hydrogen storage and the material is the first of its kind. This achievement is groundbreaking in terms of sustainable energy solutions, aligning with global goals for cleaner and more efficient energy systems."

Dr Pazhani hopes to see the material put to use soon and believes it could also be used in coming years for the sustainable storage of liquid and gaseous hydrogen in domestic household purposes, underground storage for fuel stations, and for transport systems including automotive, marine and aviation.

The full paper can be found at DOI: 10.1016/j.jmrt.2024.10.070

This article originally appeared on the Coventry University website.